Gospel Music

CherchBeBe WinansTMG Records 2006www.bebewinans.netBeBe Winans’ new two-disc project, Cherch, scheduled for release Tuesday, October 30, is one of the most joyful projects since the late Bishop G.E. Patterson’s Singing the Old Time Way collections on Podium Records.The title is a dialectical, tongue-in-cheek reference to the old-time African American worship service. [...]

We Have Seen His StarMississippi Mass ChoirMalaco Records 2007www.malaco.comGospel artists have been recording Christmas carols since Sister Rosetta Tharpe hit one out of the park in 1949 with her double-sided disc for Decca, “White Christmas”/“Silent Night.” As expected, other labels leapt into the fray the following year to capture their [...]

Thanks to Bob Laughton and Revs. Stefanie Minatee and Lawrence Roberts for alerting TBGB about this sad news:Writes Rev. Minatee:Just wanted to inform you that Gospel Music Legend, Leon Lumpkins, founder of The Gospel Clefs, passed away. His wake is tomorrow (10/17) from 1-9pm at the Greater Abyssinian Baptist Church [...]

"Every Time I Think About"Jimmy Russell and BOC (Because of Christ)From the CD "Live" (self-released) 2007Available at CD Baby: cdbaby.com/cd/jrussellbocJimmy Russell and BOC tore up an early session of the Gospel Announcers Guild gathering at this year's GMWA with "Every Time I Think About." The recorded version, featuring the straightforward [...]

“Over In Zion”Bishop Nathaniel Bond & The EnsembleFrom the CD A Message of Faith4 Life Miracle Records 2006From Joe Horn’s quartet-centric 4 Life Miracle Records and produced by the Christianaires’ Paul Porter with Terrell “Midge” Gatlin, “Over In Zion” is one hundred percent uptempo, hand-clapping quartet sound from a subset [...]

I WaitedJerard WoodsFound Sound Music 2007 www.jerardwoods.comNo doubt about it: Jerard Woods can sang!A coloratura gospel tenor in the style of Smokie Norful, Nashville-based Jerard Woods is a gifted vocalist who can worry notes without simultaneously distracting the listener from the song’s message. After singing behind many of today’s top-shelf [...]

Alone But Not AloneMarvin WinansPure Springs Gospel 2007www.purespringsgospel.comOne of the smoothest male voices in gospel today, Marvin Winans recently released Alone But Not Alone, a collection of what sound like personal testimonies tinted with cool RnB. The project is among the first to be released on sister CeCe’s Pure Springs [...]

“Brand New Day”Jonathan ButlerFrom the album Brand New DayMaranatha! Music 2007www.maranathamusic.comCape Town, South Africa-raised Jonathan Butler doesn’t need much help from TBGB, as “Brand New Day” is already in the top ten of Billboard’s gospel singles chart. Not surprising. It’s bouncy, confident, and reassuring. Truth is, it is downright hard [...]

Gospel music has been recruited to further political campaigns since the early 1930s, when Chicago candidates tapped Mahalia Jackson to sing for their meetings. Back then, Jackson's performances -- reminiscent of old-time Southern religion in sound and physical movement -- were a way for urban politicians to speak the language [...]

AnalisaJesus…He Brings Me JoySpiritual City Musicwww.spiritualcitymusic.comA bevy of beautiful Latinas have burst onto the gospel and Christian music scenes in the past few years, most notably Jaci Velasquez, Joann Rosario, and Analisa. The latter cut her musical teeth on Led Zeppelin, the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, and earned a scholarship [...]